


Uncaged

by tabula_rasa



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Age Difference, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Smut, F/M, I'll add more tags as I think of them, I'm not always patient, Jealousy, Kinda slow I guess, Neighbors, Older Man/Younger Woman, POV Alternating, Rey is adopted, Rey still lives at home, Slow Burn, Underage Drinking, Voyeurism, college student rey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2019-10-19 18:50:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 11,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17606945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabula_rasa/pseuds/tabula_rasa
Summary: She was a light in the dark. He was a shadow on the wall. There couldn't be one without the other.Ben Solo starts to notice his younger neighbor, Rey, after his wife leaves him.





	1. Ben

**Author's Note:**

> I love AU's and want to try writing more. This is my first Reylo. This story was an original story that I was posting on another website, but I lost interest. So I'm converting it into Reylo which will hopefully motivate me to start writing again! Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also, POV changes each chapter! Chapter title will indicate who's POV it is!

_She was a breath of fresh air. A light in the dark._

He had known her for the five years he’d been living next door, but he’d never actually _looked_ at her. She’d still been in high school at the time, and he had been happily married.

But now? Now his life had turned to shit and she was no longer in high school.

He had also just figured out that he could see into her bedroom from the window of his ex-wife’s nearly empty home office. (It was nearly empty except for the desk chair she didn’t want and a box filled with framed pictures of the two of them.)

He now sat in that office chair, watching the high schooler turned college student as she sat cross-legged on her bed typing furiously on her laptop. Her brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail and she was wearing a tank top and a pair of pajama shorts.

As he continued to watch, her typing slowed and then stopped. A minute later she was shutting the laptop and setting it on the bed. She stretched her arms above her head and the tank top rode up, exposing a strip of her flat stomach.

Ben spun the chair around suddenly, running a hand through his already unkempt hair. Was he really doing this? Was he really going to be the pervy neighbor who spied on the younger girl next door?

He stood up and promptly left the room without a glance backwards. He shut the door behind him, and only then did he turn around. 

Shame from what he had been doing made blood flow to his face and he pressed his warm forehead against the cool wood of the closed door, letting out a sigh. He knew then that he needed to avoid this room from now on.

But what harm was he really doing by watching her work on her laptop? It’s not like he was watching her undress. And sure, she was much younger than him, but she wasn’t underage.

Ben hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning away from the door, further ashamed from where his thoughts had gone so quickly.

He knew nothing good would come from him spending any time in that office. Ben knew that if he allowed himself to go back into the former office he would easily rationalize what he was doing.

He vowed then that he would forget all about Rey Finch.


	2. Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all the positive support on the first chapter! I thought I'd be nice and post the second earlier than I planned! Enjoy!

_Sometimes she wondered if she was bound to fail._

Her car engine stuttered, the starter refusing to turn over no matter how many times she twisted the key. Even though this had happened on several separate occasions, she had yet to take it to a garage to get whatever the problem was fixed. She knew, though, that the car would eventually start and didn’t really see it as a top priority issue.

But today she was running late and she ripped the key out of the ignition before slapping her hands on the steering wheel in frustration.

She usually had enough time to call someone to come and pick her up and bring her to class, but there was no way that was going to work out today. Her class started in 20 minutes and it took almost that exact amount of time to get to campus. To put it simply, there was not enough time for someone to drive out to get her and get her to class without being obnoxiously late.

Of course, she could have asked her mom to drive her to class but then her parents had left for a pre-anniversary vacation yesterday.

With a sigh, she got out of the car, already planning out the email she was going to send to her professor when she saw her neighbor leaving his house and heading to his car. He looked tired and disheveled, and she tried to remember his name.

She glanced at his mailbox, the last name Solo emblazoned on the side.

“Mr. Solo!” she called, hurrying around her car and over to his driveway. He paused getting into his car and looked around at her in surprise. Before he could say anything, she spoke again, probably talking too fast. “Sorry to bother you but my car won’t start and I was wondering if it would be at all possible for you to give me a ride to campus. I can give you gas money.”

She watched his eyes move over to her car before returning to her face.

“Yeah, no problem,” he answered. “I have to go that way anyway.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Solo,” Rey said emphatically. She hurried around to the other side of his car and opened the door to get in. She was still going to be late for class but being five minutes late wouldn’t hurt anything. She threw her heavy bag at her feet and hurried to buckle up as Mr. Solo got into the car and put his own seat belt on.

“You can call me Ben, by the way,” he said as he backed out of the driveway. “‘Mr. Solo’ makes me sound old.”

“Sorry,” Rey responded, glancing over at him. “To be honest, I couldn’t remember your name. Don’t take it personally either—I’m just really bad with names.”

“No worries, Rey,” he said, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

She was clearly an awful neighbor if he could remember her name and she couldn’t even remember his. He had been living next door to her and her parents for a few years now. She could actually remember when he had moved in with his wife. She remembered how happy they had been.

She could also remember the occasional fight next door, the window of her bedroom facing the side of their house. In the summers, when she’d had her window thrown open to try and cool off her room she would hear them yelling.

It was during this past summer that she saw the wife leave with a packed suitcase. Rey had thought maybe she was going to visit family or something until she returned a few days later with a moving truck, taking her belongings and leaving Ben behind.

They were almost to campus now, the majority of the trip spent in silence. Ben had turned the radio on at some point while she’d been lost in thought. She snuck a look at him out of the corner of her eye and couldn’t help but notice that he was a good-looking guy.

He had always been pretty clean cut when he had first moved in next door, and though he usually maintained his appearance, she couldn’t help but notice that his hair was a little longer and untidy. Dark circles had formed under his eyes and she ventured a guess that his wife leaving had not been going well for him. None of it detracted from his looks by any means though, and Rey couldn’t help but let her eyes linger on his facial features a fraction of a second too long. She turned away slightly when he started to look in her direction.

“Which building is your class in?” Ben asked, breaking her out of her thoughts and thankfully not catching her staring, or at least not commenting on the fact if he had noticed. She looked out the car window and realized they had arrived on campus.

“You can just drop me off here,” she said, pointing up ahead. He parked the car and she picked her bag up from the floor of the car and set it on her lap. “Thank you so much for the ride, I really owe you one.”

“It’s no problem,” he said. “Will you need a ride home after class?”

Rey shook her head and opened the car door to get out. She turned and bent over slightly to look at him.

“No, I should be able to get one of my friends to drive me home,” she answered, smiling at him. “Thanks again, Ben. I’ll see you around!”

She closed the door and turned away, hurrying to class with lingering thoughts of a neighbor she thought she ought to get to know better.


	3. Ben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter because I'm feeling generous! I also just wrote uninterrupted for about 20 minutes which I haven't been able to do in a while so I figured I'd celebrate by updating! Thanks for reading!

_He had made a mistake, but really, could he have said no?_

He watched Rey hurry away from his car, desperately wishing that she had said she would need a ride home as well.

Once she was out of sight, he ran a hand over his eyes, reminding himself that he was at least 10 years older than her. And sure, there were plenty of people in relationships with that very age gap, but that didn’t stop him from feeling like a lecherous creep.

He had never been one to vie for the affections of someone much younger than him, had always been content with the women in his own age bracket.

There was just something about Rey that he couldn’t get out of his head. She had a face you didn’t want to forget and a smile that could cut through the fog of his own depression.

But she wasn’t a cure. She wasn’t something he could use to make him feel better. And he didn’t want to use her. She deserved better than him, even though the thought of some college frat guy putting his hands all over her made him angrier than he cared to admit.

She wasn’t and never would be his.

He put the car in drive and left the campus, planning to return home. He had had a dentist appointment, which he had now missed, having gone completely out of his way to bring Rey to her class. He’d have to call and see about rescheduling with some lame excuse of a non-existing family emergency.

Ben was almost home when he decided to swing by the liquor store he had seen on his way out to the college campus. He needed something to take his mind off things.

\---

He heard car doors close and the sound of laughter. _Her_ laughter, followed by a male voice.

He was currently laying on his bed, still fully dressed, his eyes closed against the spinning room. He opened them up slowly, realizing that it was dark now. He must have fallen asleep for a little bit, and he rubbed a hand over his eyes. When he brought his hand away from his face, the spinning wasn’t quite so bad.

He sat up slowly, heard the laughter again. He got up and went to his bedroom window where he had a decent view of the driveway and front door of the neighbor’s house.

And there she was, Rey, talking and laughing with a guy who was younger and better looking than Ben. He was pretty much perfect for Rey.

He watched them, watched this guy brush some of Rey’s brown hair behind her ear. Watched him place a hand on her waist, push her against the door. Ben turned away just as their lips met.

With a sick twist in his stomach, he knew no matter what he told himself, there was no denying that he wished it was him down there with Rey.


	4. Rey

_She realized too late that she might have made a mistake._

It wasn’t until they had turned into her driveway that Rey regretted asking Poe, her on-again off-again boyfriend, to drive her home instead of just having Ben come back to get her after her classes that afternoon. But it was too late now.

They were already getting out of the car and she had already mentioned to Poe that her parents were gone on vacation. Suddenly they were at the door, and she was laughing at something he had said, pretending she found him funny as she scrambled to come up with an excuse to not invite him in. She was never any good at this.

But he was brushing her hair behind her ear, moving in close with a hand on her waist, his breath hot on her face before she felt his lips on hers. She let him kiss her, gave in just a little bit, letting her lips part. She let herself enjoy it for just a second, but it was all meaningless, which is why they were off-again more often than not.

Her hands moved up to his shoulders, but before she could push him away, before she could utter some apology for not allowing him to crawl into bed with her, a voice cut through the darkness.

“Rey?”

Poe pulled back, and they both glanced next door. Ben was standing there, hands in his pocket, hair messier than it had been earlier, a tight smile lingering on his lips that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, staring at Poe. His eyes moved to Rey. “Your mom called a little while ago, wanted me to tell you to call her back when you got home.”

“Oh, thanks Ben,” Rey answered, giving Poe a gentle push away from her before digging into her bag, looking for her house key. Her eyes met Poe’s and she knew he was still hoping to get inside. “I’ll see you tomorrow Poe. My mom will probably talk my ear off and I have a paper I have to finish.”

She set her bag on the ground and knelt next to it, continuing to reach around books and pens and notebooks, searching for her elusive keys.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow then I guess,” Poe said, backing up a few steps, disappointment clear on his face. Rey almost could have laughed at how relieved she felt. 

She watched as Poe got into his car and backed out of the driveway. When he was out of sight she stood up, keys in hand, and turned to Ben who was still lingering at the edge of her driveway.

“Did my mom really call or did you just sense I needed saving?” Rey asked. Ben smiled and looked down, before looking back up at her. His eyes were dark in the night.

“Both,” he said. “She said she couldn’t get a hold of you on your cell phone.”

“Ah, well that’s because I kind of forgot it today,” Rey responded with a chuckle. She unlocked the front door and turned to look back at Ben who was still watching her. “Thanks for everything today. You’ve basically been my knight in shining armor twice today.”

He smiled and took a step back toward his house.

“Anytime,” he said before turning away, heading back to his house. Rey watched him go before stepping into her house. 

Once inside she leaned against the door, slightly out of breath because god knows why. She took a moment to collect her thoughts and went to call her mom.


	5. Ben

_He knew he was playing a dangerous game._

There was no denying he was a terrible person, but he was coming to accept that fact about himself a little easier. The two recent interactions Ben had with Rey had added fuel to the dying embers, which were now a blazing fire, completely out of his control.

All he could think about was her. Her eyes, her hair, her smile, her hands. 

He almost could have wondered if she actually existed, almost believed he may have dreamed her into existence in a drunken haze.

But she was as real as the pounding of his hangover headache. Sunlight beat it’s way past his nearly closed curtains to land unceremoniously across his face, contributing to the morning’s reminders that he had drunk a little too much the night before.

He was just trying to decide if he should pull himself out of his bed or lay there in misery in hopes that at some point the headache would go away on it’s own when his doorbell rang. Ben groaned audibly, rubbing a clammy hand over his forehead.

He supposed he better get up, try and be a productive member of society. He was at least thankful it was a Saturday and that he didn’t have to go to work till Monday. So he didn’t have to be too productive today.

The doorbell rang again and Ben slowly sat up, hoping that by the time he made it downstairs, whoever was there would have given up. But by the time he’d left his bedroom, heading for the stairs whoever was there was knocking on the door now.

“I’m coming!” he yelled, hoping that at least the noise would subside.

He felt a little less miserable when he opened the door and saw that it was Rey standing on his doorstep.

“Did I wake you?” she asked, smiling slightly at what he was sure was some atrocious bed head. He ran a hand through his hair self-consciously, knowing full well that it was longer than he normally wore it and therefore much harder to tame, especially when you didn’t really care that much about your appearance anymore.

“No,” he answered, leaning against the entryway of his house and folding his arms across his chest. “Just got back from a quick jog around the block.”

She laughed and he gave her a cheeky grin.

“Well, either way I’m sorry to bother you,” she said. She held up her hand in which she was holding a white envelope. “It’s just that after talking to my mom last night, I told her how you’d helped me and brought me to class yesterday and she insisted that I pass along an invitation to their anniversary party.”

She held out the envelope and he took it, glancing down at it before looking back up at Rey.

“It’s next Saturday and you totally don’t have to come,” she said quickly. “My mom was just very insistent that I invite you and it’s going to be totally cheesy. Probably not your scene at all.”

“Is there an open bar?” Ben asked and Rey looked at him in surprise, before smiling hesitantly.

“I think so?” she answered.

“Then I’ll be there,” he answered and she let out another laugh. “It’s definitely my scene if there’s an open bar.”

“Then I guess I’ll see you there!”

“I guess so,” he said. They smiled at each other and Rey stepped back from the door. “Thanks Rey.”

“No problem, Ben.”

With a wave she turned and walked away, heading back next door. He looked back down at the envelope holding the invitation and went inside his house, closing the door. He was certain this was dangerous territory.


	6. Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these chapters are so short! I do have some slightly longer ones coming up though! Thanks for all the nice comments!

_She knew exactly what she was doing, even if she wouldn’t admit it._

It had taken exactly two separate interactions with her neighbor for her to be unable to get him out of her head. Only two. And they weren’t even that great.

She had a habit of getting ahead of herself, her imagination taking over. She was really doing everything she could to try and keep inappropriate thoughts of her recently divorced older neighbor out of her head, but they were almost fruitless. Almost.

And because she was having so much trouble keeping her distance, she made the mistake of inviting Poe over. She called him that evening, hours after giving Ben that invitation to her parent’s anniversary party. She had talked to her mom the night before, and sure she had been grateful to Ben for giving her a ride to class, but it had been Rey’s suggestion to invite him as a thank you. But she wasn’t going to admit that to Ben.

She was grateful for the distraction when Poe showed up. So grateful in fact that she pulled him in close before he’d hardly gotten through the door, pressing her lips against his, desperate and frantic. She was slightly ashamed for momentarily wishing that it were Ben here instead, especially because she barely knew him. 

She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something about Ben that drew her in. She pulled away from Poe as the intrusive thoughts of her neighbor flared up, breathing heavily. 

“Let’s go to my room,” she said, grabbing his hand and leading him up the stairs.

They’d slept together a few times and usually it was Poe who initiated it and Rey just went along with it because maybe she _had_ been feeling a little lonely at the time. But tonight was different. Tonight was a distraction. Tonight was for her, to feel Poe’s hands on her skin to keep her from thinking of another person’s hands doing the same thing. 

Poe was built differently from Ben, and she found herself comparing their sizes. Ben’s hands looked larger and he was taller, and she pressed herself against Poe, lips bumping his as she attempted to surround herself in only him.

She threw off her clothes as quickly as she could, Poe hurrying to catch up, reaching out to run a hand down her side, admiring her body. She helped him with his clothes, kissing him hard before pushing him back on the bed.

She moved on top of Poe, trying to enjoy herself, trying to let go. 

As she moved on top of Poe, she thought she saw movement outside of her window. She realized she’d left the curtain open and a lamp cast a dim light over the room. She’d never really thought about the fact that one of the windows of Ben’s house looked directly into her bedroom.

Poe’s hands grabbed at her breasts, bringing her back to reality and she threw her head back, escaping in the moment.


	7. Ben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is gonna be the first of the anniversary party chapters ayyyy
> 
> I'm excited to start posting those!

_He wasn’t sure he could trust himself anymore._

He had been in the home office, sifting through the box in there, trying to decide if he should just throw away the last remnants of his ex-wife. He was putting everything back into the box when a light switched on in Rey’s room and he couldn’t help but automatically look up.

He wasn’t surprised when he felt disappointment and something else that made his stomach churn when she pulled that boy who’d brought her home the other night into her room. He stood up, heading toward the door, knowing he should just leave, should not torture himself in that way.

But he turned around anyway, slightly shocked to find that Rey was quickly on her way to being fully naked, helping the other guy with his own clothes. He felt his cheeks burn as he took in the shape of her curves and the way her hair fell over her bare shoulders. He watched as she kissed him, pushing him back onto the bed before climbing on top of this typical frat guy who probably wasn’t fully appreciating what he had right this moment.

His hands twitched, and he wished it was his hands on her hips. He looked down, ashamed yet again by his thoughts. He reached up and flicked the light off, determined to leave the room without a single glance backward, but his curiosity was still in control and when he looked out the window again, he was surprised to find that Rey was looking straight at him. 

He stared back, knowing she couldn’t see him there but hoping she could sense him. He knew it was a foolish thought and as she turned her face away from the window, he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

He moved toward his bathroom, deciding that a nice long shower would clear his head.

\---

He tried to push thoughts of Rey out of his head during the week, going through his usual routine. Work kept him almost busy enough, but when he came home he’d see her car next door, or the invitation to the upcoming anniversary party on his coffee table, or the closed door of the office that looked right into her bedroom.

There were reminders of her everywhere, and he longed to see her again. He had stood at the office door several times already during the week, wanting desperately to go in and see if she was in her bedroom.

But somehow, he resisted. He found other ways to distract himself, though not fully. He found himself in the shower often, remembering the glow of her skin and her curves, before drowning himself in another bottle of liquor.

He had hopes that after this anniversary party he could go back to his normal life where he didn’t usually interact with Rey or her parents. He could go back to being alone and miserable, and maybe move on to being a normal adult who didn’t dream about the probably at least ten years younger girl next door.


	8. Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little early Valentine's Day present for you!

_If she was being honest, everything was going exactly as she thought that it would._

It was a whirlwind week for Rey, as her parents came home from their vacation and she was expected to help get things ready for the anniversary party between classes and homework. She didn’t really want to admit it, but she had been keeping her eye out for any signs of Ben. Somehow during the week, their paths did not cross and she felt more disappointed about this than she ought to. 

But things were looking up. The party started in just a little under an hour and she knew it would be hard for them not to bump into each other, even in the spacious party room they had rented for the event at one of the local hotels.

Rey was currently in the bathroom closest to the party room, checking her appearance yet again. She pulled on the skirt of the magenta dress she had chosen to wear, still surprised her mother hadn’t commented on the shortness of the skirt or the low cut neckline, not that she had much cleavage to show off. She sighed, realizing that if there really was a problem with her dress choice one of her parents surely would have said something, no matter how distracted they were.

She smiled at her reflection, leaning in close to check yet again for lipstick on her teeth. She turned her face from side to side, making sure her eyeliner was even. She couldn’t find anything wrong with her makeup, which made Rey happy as she had spent too much time on it. She wanted everything to be perfect, wanted this to be a special night. 

Her hair was in loose waves, falling around her shoulder and she ran her fingers cautiously over a few out of control stands. She stood back and took in her appearance in its entirety and found she was pleased with the results.

She went back to the party room, looking around at the various guests that had been arriving for the past 30 minutes. She hadn’t caught sight of the one person she was waiting for, but she knew he’d be here. She had a feeling he wouldn’t skip out on this.

She moved around the room, greeting and chatting with people she knew, family members, and old friends of her parents. She smiled, laughed, chit-chatted, but still she was distracted.

While her parents were on the other side of the room she snuck over to the bar and batted her eyelashes and leaned over the bar and got a drink. She headed over to a secluded corner to enjoy the drink without anyone bothering her.

“You’re good.”

She had been looking at her phone as she sipped her cranberry vodka, but at his voice, she looked up and smiled.

“What was that?” she asked.

“I saw you over at the bar,” Ben said, a glass of what looked like whisky in his hand. “You’re good. He didn’t even ask for your ID and you are definitely under twenty one.”

Rey shrugged and finished her drink.

“Nineteen is close enough, right?” she responded. “You’re not going to tell on me are you?”

“It can be our little secret,” he answered, winking at her. She looked over the fitted suit he was wearing appreciatively, noting that he had also tamed his hair. He looked good, though she had to resist the urge to mess up his hair just a little. He reached over and took the empty glass from her hand. “I really shouldn’t be condoning underage drinking, but I’m going to get you another drink anyway. Stay here.”

She watched as he walked over to the bar, knocking back the rest of his own drink before setting the empty glasses on the bar. The bartender refilled them and Ben returned, handing her the now full glass.

“Thank you,” she said. He moved next to her, leaning his back against the wall, leaving about an inch of space between them. She could feel the warmth radiating off of him and she loved it. She took a sip of her refreshed drink and relished the cold sweetness of the cranberry juice that burned with the warmth of vodka down her throat and into her stomach. 

She held the drink in her left hand, her right arm at her side. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ben move his drink to his right hand, and his left arm came to rest beside hers, the fabric of his suit jacket brushing against the bare skin of her arm. She shivered slightly and took a large gulp of her drink as one of her aunt’s stood up to introduce a slideshow she’d put together with lots of pictures of her parents over the years. 

“This is going to be cheesy, isn’t it?” Ben asked as the lights in the room dimmed and a projector across the room was turned on.

“Oh yeah,” she said. Rey finished the rest of her drink, tilting her head back. Her head was already swimming and she remembered she hadn’t had much to eat for dinner before the party as she had been so busy making sure everything was right. She bent over and set her empty glass on the floor near her feet, her arm bumping Ben’s again as she stood back up.

Rey watched the slideshow, set to some love song she couldn’t remember the name of, and saw her parents together through the years. There were pictures from their wedding and their first home. It didn’t take long before Rey herself was making an appearance in the pictures, freshly adopted at the tender age of 3. Her vision blurred slightly, as gratitude for her parents washed over.

She looked around the room for her parents and saw they were toward the front of the room, holding each other as they watched the pictures that documented their lives together so far. She was truly thankful for them and couldn’t have asked for a better family.

Rey was suddenly distracted by what was going on now as she felt the brush of Ben’s hand against hers. She turned her head ever so slightly to get a look at him but he was staring resolutely at the slideshow. She thought maybe it had been an accident but the thought had barely entered her head when she felt his hand again, and this time his fingers were wrapping around her own. 

She momentarily froze, wondering if this was really happening until she felt his thumb rubbing circles over her palm. She shuddered and turned her hand, intertwining their fingers and giving a squeeze. Handholding had never felt that intimate to her, but this… this had set her skin on fire and she never wanted to let go of that hand. 

The lights came back on and Ben quickly pulled his hand from hers and before she could even begin to comprehend what was going on or do something to continue acknowledging that they clearly had an attraction between them, her aunt was calling her up to the front to join her parents for a picture.

She turned to look at Ben but he was finishing his drink, eyes away from her. 

Maybe it had just been a fluke.


	9. Ben

_She was hard to avoid, as he was constantly being drawn to her again and again._

He watched her walk away, the feeling of her fingers around his still lingering. He finished his drink and closed his eyes, leaning more heavily against the wall. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t know why he had reached for her hand. In all honesty, he wanted to hold on to more than just her hand. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair, hold her face in his hands, feel the pulse in her neck beneath his lips, breathe her in. 

_Nineteen_ , he reminded himself, hoping if he repeated the number he would be deterred from any further inappropriate actions. He finally knew that she was fourteen years younger than him, making him feel old. But no matter how hard he tried to focus his mind on that difference, he kept going back to the feel of her hand in his.

He rubbed a hand over his face and made his way back to the bar. He was slightly drunker than he cared to admit, but he had trouble slowing down lately. So he didn’t think twice about getting a new drink. He glanced over to where Rey had gone and saw her glancing his way as well, a smile on her lips. He smiled back and picked up his fresh drink before disappearing to an abandoned table in another corner of the room.

Ben didn’t really know anyone here and he wasn’t interested in meeting anyone. He sat there for a while, making an effort to savor this drink and not down it all in one swallow as he watched the party go on. Everyone was socializing and laughing and drinking and music was put on and people started dancing, which gave him something else to keep him entertained.

He was on the last few sips of his drink when Rey returned, sitting down in the chair next to his, two drinks in her hand. She slid the one that was clearly meant for him in front of him on the table. She took a long drink from her own glass before smiling at him.

“I got sucked into socializing with the family again,” she said with a laugh, her words slightly slurred. Clearly that hadn’t kept her from slowing down on the drinks. They sat silently for a moment before Rey spoke again. “Come dance with me.”

She downed the last of her drink as yet another slow song came on. She didn’t wait for an answer, but stood and grabbed his hand pulling him to the dance floor. And he let her. He didn’t resist. He thought he might, thought about how easy it would be to just slip his hand from hers and not let this continue any further. He could still walk away.

But she was turning toward him, smiling shyly with a hazy look in her eyes from the alcohol as his hands came to rest on her waist and her arms rested on his shoulders, pushing and pulling each other closer together. Their height difference made it hard to put much space between them, even if Rey was wearing heels.

Ben tried not to think about the fact that Rey’s body was pressed tightly against his while they turned on the spot. He tried not to think much about Rey in general, turning his gaze on the people around them, watching them, ignoring the warmth radiating through him everywhere Rey was.

“Ben,” she said, quickly regaining his attention. His eyes met hers and she smiled. “Relax.”

He took a slow breath, eyes not leaving hers though he knew he should break the connection. His gaze darted to her slightly parted lips momentarily taking in their rose pink hue. He knew they’d be petal soft against his, and he ached to find out. And her fingers were tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck, sending a shiver down his spine straight to his dick and he knew he was half hard and she was _nineteen_ but fuck it he wanted her…

He felt a tap on his shoulder and the spell was broken. He turned and there was the bastard who had put his hands all over Rey, smirking at him in a self-assured way.

“Mind if I cut in?” he asked.

“Poe!” Rey said, smiling. “I didn’t think you could make it?”

“I got out of work early,” he answered. “Figured I’d get at least one dance in with the prettiest girl here.”

Ben rolled his eyes at the interaction. Rey placed a hand on his arm, turning to him.

“You don’t mind Ben?” she asked.

“Not at all,” he said, a tight smile pulling at his lips. He nodded at Poe who was already pulling Rey toward him.

“Who was that?” Ben heard him ask. He didn’t stick around to overhear Rey’s answer.


	10. Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, thanks so much to those who have been commenting! I really appreciate the feedback!

_She knew it was inevitable, that things were going too smoothly._

She had totally forgotten about Poe. Completely forgotten that she had asked her parents if she could invite him when they were on one of their good streaks. 

It’s not that she didn’t like Poe. He was handsome and sweet and funny, but she didn’t feel any electricity between them anymore. It had been different when they first met.

Rose had dragged her to a frat party first semester freshman year after she met Finn, who she was immediately taken with. It was there Rey had met Poe, as she sipped cheap beer while loud music played. She had been bored and had thought about leaving as Rose was otherwise occupied, but Poe had spotted her and swooped in.

And Rey had been excited that she was getting attention from this guy with his tan skin and dark curls who was slightly older (a junior to her freshman) and what had followed was a whirlwind romance. Though romance may have not been the right word. They hung out, they slept together. Poe flirted, Rey got pissed off. He would come crawling back, and Rey would take him back in because what else did she even have going on in her life. 

So here they were, she now a sophomore and he a senior, and Rey could finally admit that the fire had died. At least for her it had. Poe was still around, probably no thanks to her mixed signals as of late.

So now Poe was at her parents party, being the good guy and dancing with her. But as their bodies were pressed together and Poe whispered in her ear about how pretty she was she couldn’t stop thinking about Ben. She had watched him walk away and she wished now that she had told Poe to fuck off. 

She could blame it on the alcohol and how close they had gotten, but she knew there was no denying there was a connection between them, something more than electricity. 

\---

Poe drove her home after. She had gone to the party with her parents but they had gotten a room at the hotel, probably to celebrate their anniversary in ways she didn’t really want to think about. 

She hadn’t seen Ben the rest of the party and assumed he had went home. As they pulled into her driveway she saw that his car was in his driveway but all the lights were off. 

Poe shut the car off and she knew he was expecting her to invite him in. She knew he thought showing up at her parent’s party and dancing with her and complimenting her often would equate to him getting laid. And normally she would have obliged, but she knew this wasn’t a road she wanted to continue down. Tonight had only solidified her feelings toward Poe and she knew they were over.

“I’m sorry, Poe,” she said quietly. He turned to look at her but she was looking out the car window, staring at Ben’s dark windows

“For what?” 

It was silent as she contemplated what to say. Poe sighed.

“So that’s it then?” he said. She finally turned to look at him and he was staring down at his lap, face hidden in shadows.

“I really am sorry,” she said. “This just isn’t working for me anymore and I don’t want to keep stringing you along.”

He looked up at her now and smiled sadly.

“I kind of had a feeling this was coming,” he responded. “Things haven’t felt quite right between us lately.”

She nodded and opened the car door. 

“Thank you,” Rey said quietly. “For everything.”

She got out of the car and closed the door. Poe watched her before nodding to himself. He started his car up and backed out of the driveway. Rey watched until the taillights disappeared around the corner before turning toward her house. She started toward the front door, digging through her purse for her keys.

She was distracted by something next door and looked to see the faint flickering blue light of a television on in one of Ben’s downstairs rooms, the living room most likely.

And with the courage of what was left of the alcohol she had drunk, she changed paths and headed toward her neighbor's front door.


	11. Ben

_Despite everything, he couldn’t get her out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried._

He’d put his fist through the wall.

After he drove himself home (not the best idea) and got inside, he’d stood just inside the door, staring at the floor and thinking about Rey and _Poe_. He knew he had no right to feel angry or jealous about the situation. Rey was so much younger than him and clearly she and this guy had something going on, but he couldn’t help but have her classified in his mind as _his_. 

But because he was drunk and thinking about the two touching and kissing and he had anger issues that until recently he thought he had in check, he turned and put the fist of his right hand through the drywall. Later, he’d be thankful he’d missed the studs.

Now, he looked at the small scrapes on his knuckles, wondering if he’d have bruises later. He went and got a drink, calm now. He sunk into the couch in his living room, turned the TV on, nestled a half-empty bottle of whiskey between his knees and felt sorry for himself.

\---

He woke just as the bottle was about to slip to the floor, an infomercial blaring out at him from his television. He grabbed the bottle, taking a long drink as he picked up the remote and hit the mute button.

That’s when he heard a soft knock on his front door. He glanced at the clock and noticed it was nearing midnight. He rubbed a hand across his eyes and got unsteadily to his feet, clearly more drunk than he had meant to get. He set the bottle of whiskey on the coffee table, and headed toward his front door focusing on his feet and making sure he didn’t trip himself up.

When he opened his door, he stood silently for a moment, taking in his late night visitor.

“What are you doing here?” he asked and Rey looked up at him, her small smile quickly turning to confusion.

“What?”

“I said, what are you doing here?” Ben poked his head out of the door, making Rey step aside as he looked next door. He saw only her car in the driveway, just as it had been all day. 

He looked back at Rey, standing in the doorway and swaying slightly. He put a hand out to steady himself. He’d clearly drunk too much.

“I wanted to see you,” she said quietly, eyes meeting his.

“Why?”

“Because…” she hesitated, rubbing a hand through her hair. She was nervous. “I think you know why.”

Ben didn’t really know why he said what he said next. Maybe because he was angry or he was hurt or jealous or drunk. Maybe just a lethal combination of all of the above. But he knew he had ruined everything and knew later he’d regret what he said.

“Don’t worry Rey, I won’t get any wrong ideas from earlier tonight,” he said, words coming harsh from his mouth. Rey flinched at the venom in it, shock clear on her face, as this was obviously not what she had expected. “I won’t get in the way of you and your precious _Poe_. I’ll stop being the creepy neighbor and leave you alone.”

He took a step back to close the door in her face, to get her away from him because even though he knew what she really wanted, he couldn’t bring himself to accept that someone like her could care about him in any capacity. But she was strong and he was drunk and she pushed the door back and forced her way into his front hallway. 

He saw her eyes, pools of black. She was angry now.

“That’s not why I came here, and you know it,” she stated firmly. She shoved him back, and he let her, watching her with interest. “I just ended things with Poe. For you actually, but clearly that was a mistake.”

She turned to leave and Ben realized suddenly that he didn’t want her to go, he wanted to wrap himself around her. He reached for here hand before she got to the door but she quickly pulled away from him and glared at Ben.

“Don’t worry, Ben. I won’t get the wrong idea again.”

The door slammed shut behind her and Ben was alone once more. He stared miserably at the hole in his wall.


	12. Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So sorry for taking so long to update! I've been a bit busy, but I am going to try my best to update a bit quicker for the next chapter to make up for taking so long!

_Things had not been going the way they were supposed to, but honestly when did that ever really happen._

Rey woke late the next day, memories of the previous night unfortunately still there to sift through. She cringed internally at her last interactions with Ben. She had avoided telling Ben what she had felt was obvious, instead opting for Ben to admit what she knew they were both feeling. But clearly she had misread things.

She felt embarrassed the more she thought about it. I mean, she must have been crazy to think that there could be anything between the two of them. She had simply let her lust for her neighbor go straight to her head and the alcohol she had swiped had clearly given her a false sense of confidence.

If any good had come from last night, it was at least that she had let Poe go. She had truly felt bad about using him and leading him on. He could be really sweet when they were good, but she knew there was nothing between them anymore. At least not for her.

Rey rolled over in bed, staring out her bedroom window and over at the window of Ben’s house that looked into her own. She sat up quickly when she realized something was different. There was a piece of paper taped to the inside of the window of Ben’s house with something written on it, in thick black letters. She got up and went to her window to get a closer look. 

**I’m sorry.**

She said the words out loud, staring hard at the paper before returning to her bed and sitting in the middle of it, legs crossed, still staring at the window.

Rey let out a long sigh. So maybe he hadn’t meant everything he said. He had been drinking last night too. And angry, jealous, she realized as she went over the events of last night again. She buried her face in her hands, struggling to decide what to do now.

Despite what had been said last night, she still wanted Ben. Wanted to know him more, wanted to share herself with him.

She made up her mind, getting dressed quickly. She hurried downstairs and just as she was passing the kitchen her plan had to come to a halt.

“Good afternoon, honey,” her mom called. Debra Finch poked her head around the corner, smiling at her daughter. “I heard you moving around up there so I just threw together some lunch for you if you’re hungry. Unless you’re off somewhere?”

“Oh, thanks mom,” Rey answered, returning her mother’s smile. “I’m not in a hurry. Lunch would be great!”

She followed her mom into the kitchen, and stopped abruptly in the entryway. Ben was sitting at the kitchen table with her father, plates with the remnants of what appeared to be sandwiches in front of them.

“Ben, here, came over to thank us for inviting him to the anniversary party,” Craig Finch said. Ben watched her carefully and Rey finally moved to the kitchen table, taking a seat next to her father as her mother placed a sandwich in front of her.

“I insisted he stay for lunch,” her mother said, taking a seat at the table as well.

“Of course you did,” Rey said with a laugh. Her eyes met Ben’s and he smiled at her.

And honestly it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and it was then that she really knew she was screwed.


	13. Ben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My gift to you: Another update! I apologize if this is repetitive but I do like getting both points of views on the same situation sometimes! Thanks to those who've commented! I really appreciate the feedback!

_Something about her made him want to do better, to be better. And of course he’d already fucked up._

He woke early, to the familiar pounding in his head that told him what he already knew: he’d drank too much last night, but not enough to make him forget what had happened.

He curled the fingers of the hand of the hand he’d put through his wall, relishing the ache. He deserved that pain and more. He could still see the anger masking the hurt in Rey’s eyes when he closed his own. She had come over here for him and he had screwed up.

He dragged himself out of bed and stumbled toward the home office, needing to see her. Hoping that he could think of some way to make things right. Her room was dark but there was enough light for him to see that she was in bed, her back to the window. 

He sat in the desk chair near the window with a sigh. He wished he hadn’t said the things he had said last night but it was too late for that. He’d always had issues with anger, as his wife had always liked to remind him, until she got fed up and he drove her away by not fixing his own problems.

And what good had that really done? He was drinking more and clearly still angry.

But Rey made him want to change all that and try harder, despite how he acted last night. He felt ashamed that she had seen him like that and he knew that the easiest way to start fixing things was with an apology though he wasn’t sure she’d even give him the time of day.

He started pulling open drawers, an idea forming that would allow him to get his message across without him having to face her just yet. He found a piece of paper and a black marker and started to write his short message in thick black letters that she’d hopefully be able to see from her bedroom: **I’m sorry.**

He looked at it for a second, knowing it was a cheesy idea but willing to give it a shot. He taped it up in the window before heading for the shower.

\---

He returned to the office to find that Rey was still in bed. He thought about going over there to wake her up and tell her in person that he was sorry but as he glanced out at the driveway next door he saw that Rey was no longer home alone. Her parents had returned.

As he stared back at Rey in bed, he got an idea on how to best gauge Rey’s current feelings toward him.

And that’s how he ended up in Rey’s kitchen just before noon, eating a sandwich with her parents and waiting for her to finally make an appearance. Her mom heard her moving around upstairs first and as Ben listened carefully he could hear that her movements were hurried and as she came rushing down the stairs, he felt his heart beat faster and he couldn’t pretend to listen to Rey’s father anymore as he waited to see her face.

Then there she was, staring at him with eyes wide before slowly making her way to the table. She avoided his gaze as her mother placed a sandwich in front of her, and finally, finally she looked up at him and he smiled.

Then he saw it. A flicker of a look that told him that all was not lost and he felt something he hadn’t felt in a while: hope.


	14. Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait again! To be honest, I keep forgetting about this story! But it's only because I'm not in the habit of writing much anymore, I swear! I hope this makes up for the wait though!

_She was diving off the deep end, taking a chance and never looking back._

Rey was thankful her parents weren’t the type to hang around at home, always running off to do something. She had barely finished her lunch when her parents were out the door, rambling off some afternoon plans with old friends, leaving her alone with Ben.

To avoid the awkward silence that quickly followed, Rey picked up her plate and brought it to the sink, wishing there were more dishes for her to wash and distract herself with. It took no more than a minute to wash her plate and when she shut the water off and turned away from the sink, drying her hands on the dish towel. She jumped when she realized Ben was right behind her and everything she had been thinking of saying vanished from her memory, leaving her staring up at him.

“You saw my note?” he asked, eyes searching hers. She nodded and he added, “I really am sorry. I was angry and said things I didn’t mean. I never wanted to hurt you.”

Rey looked down.

“I was really mad at you last night,” she responded quietly, fidgeting with the towel in her hands. She leaned back against the counter and reached over, setting the towel down and crossed her arms over her chest before looking back at Ben. “But I forgive you.”

“I can’t make you any promises that I won’t hurt you again,” he said after a moment. Rey realized then that this was the most serious she had seen Ben. “I’m fucked up in a lot of ways, but I’m trying to do better. I’m trying to be better. I hated the way I felt this morning knowing that I had hurt you. I don’t want to do that again.”

She didn’t know what to say, watching this man express things to her that no man had ever shared with her before. They hadn’t known each other long, but whatever this thing was had taken off quickly and showed no signs of slowing down. There was no doubt in her mind that they shared a connection that was strong, and it was scary, but it was real. 

Rey uncrossed her arms and reached for Ben’s hand with one of hers, giving it a gentle squeeze, trying to find the words that would best let him know that none of that mattered without sounding cheesy. She just knew she wanted to be there for every dark moment, because even in the darkness there is light. She could be that light for him. She knew it.

She brought his hand to her lips, kissing knuckles she now realized were bruised.

“Rey--,” Ben started to say, but she interrupted him, pushing forward to press her lips to his. She felt him tense for a second before relaxing into her, pushing her hard into the counter as he pressed himself hard against her.

And suddenly they were tangled together, breath rushing through them as his lips enveloped hers, soft and firm all at once. Everything about it felt right, the way they fit together and even the ways they didn’t.

When their lips finally did part, they stayed connected, their foreheads pushed together their breath coming out in gasps between them. Rey had her eyes closed, relishing what had just happened. Her arms were wrapped around Ben’s back, her hands gripping his shirt.

“Rey,” Ben said again, quietly this time. She opened her eyes, finding his right there, looking back at her. She smiled. She felt his smile when his lips pressed against hers once again.


	15. Ben

_He couldn’t believe his luck. He’d almost ruined everything._

A few days had passed since Rey had kissed him, and he was still in shock. Shocked that this beautiful woman wanted to be with him, despite the age difference. He was so shocked in fact, that he hadn’t had a drink since punching the wall.

Getting out of bed had become easier and he savored the early morning sunshine, enjoying the feeling of warmth it brought him. Ben felt truly happy for the first time since his wife left him.

The only problem, which was an understandable one, was that Rey did not want her parents to know anything about what was going on between them. Honestly, he couldn’t blame her. What parents wanted their daughter to date someone so much older than her. Though he couldn’t help but hope that if they were to ease them into the idea of Rey and Ben being together, they may accept it. But until Rey was ready for something like that, he had agreed to be nothing more than neighborly to her in public.

Thankfully, between her parent’s work schedule and Rey’s class schedule, there would be plenty of time for them to meet up without having to worry about getting caught. And it also didn’t hurt that Ben had a whole house to himself that happened to be right next door to her house. It would be easy for Rey to come over and there would be no risk of her parents walking in on them.

Though, the thought of fucking Rey into the twin bed in the bedroom she had grown up made him feel things that shouldn’t have felt so right. Of course, the thought of fucking Rey at all was enough to get his blood flowing south.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He didn’t want to rush things with Rey. He wanted everything to be on her terms. And most of all, he didn’t want to screw this up.

There was suddenly a knock on his front door, interrupting his thoughts, but the grin on Rey’s face when he opened the door was worth the interruption.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he said, smiling back at her, standing in the open doorway.

“Well are you going to let me in or?”

Ben cleared his throat, taking a step back.

“Sorry,” he said. Waited a second, then, “You’re beautiful.”

Rey was smiling again, shy this time. 

As soon as the door was closed she was in his space, all around him, mouth pressed hotly against his, not even a hint of that shyness lingering. His hands found her hips, pulling her close as he leaned back against the wall, their tongues meeting hungrily in the fevered kiss.

All too soon, Rey was pulling away gasping slightly for breath. Her eyes were dark as she looked at him.

“I have to go back home.”

“Already?” Ben asked, clearly confused. And fully aroused. “But you just got here.”

“I know,” Rey said, smiling cheekily now. “I just got back from classes and my parents will be back home shortly. I just wanted to come say hi.”

“You’re a tease, you know that?” Ben smiled at her and Rey laughed. She leaned up slightly to give him a quick kiss.

“I’ll make it up to you.”

The door opened and closed and Ben was alone again.


	16. Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I offer this chapter as a formal apology for the previous one.
> 
> Thanks so much for the comments!

_Things were finally going her way._

Rey was on Cloud 9. 

She knew now for sure that she had made the right choice by giving up Poe for Ben. She felt happy and sure of herself in a way she never had before.

There was just one problem: her parents. Honestly, they were great and had always taught her to be her own person, but she was sure they hadn’t meant for her to date her older, divorced neighbor. So for now, Ben was her secret.

But this meant less time with Ben. It seemed that ever since their anniversary party, they were home more often, which probably wasn’t even the case. She just noticed it more now that she had to sneak around them for the first time.

At least they had known about Poe so were totally fine with her being out with him. They had met him a few times, found him charming as most people did.

Rey had managed several quick visits to Ben in the week following the start of whatever this was, but these meetings often seemed to leave her unsatisfied and wanting more. She knew Ben felt the same way, could always see the way his eyes darkened after she kissed him. But she also knew he wasn’t going to say anything about it, that he’d be too nice to let her know he wanted more.

Earlier that evening she’d gone over to Ben’s after her classes had let out, stealing a few minutes that had left her breathless. She’d wanted to go further, lust almost clouding her judgment. But she had known her parents would be home soon and her car was in the driveway and she wasn’t in the house. She wouldn’t have been able to come up with a good excuse for that.

So here she was, lying on her bed staring up at the ceiling, a small lamp in the corner casting dim light over the room. She felt more frustrated than she had before she’d finally kissed Ben for the first time and she knew she needed to do something about it soon.

Rey smiled slightly, suddenly getting an idea. She sat up in her bed, grabbing her cell phone and moving to the middle of her bed and sitting with her legs crossed.

It was late now. Her parents had gone to bed hours ago, but she was alert and high-strung and she hoped Ben was still awake.

She found his number in her phone, and was thankful she had remembered to ask for it the other day. He answered on the second ring.

“Can’t sleep?” Ben asked in way of greeting.

“Not at all. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Rey normally wouldn’t say something like this so soon in a relationship, but it was true and she knew Ben probably felt the same way. She didn’t feel like beating around the bush with him.

“Oh yeah?” he responded, and she knew he was smiling. 

“I want to see you,” she said. She stared out her bedroom window at the dark window across from her own. “Go into that room that looks into mine.”

She heard bedsprings squeak in the background as he got off of his own bed. A moment later a light went on in the nearly empty room across from her bedroom and she could see Ben now. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of sweatpants. She took in the bulk of him. She’d always known he was big, but seeing him without a shirt just made it more obvious even from where she was seated and she bit her lip. Her eyes met Ben’s and he smirked at her.

“Like what you see?” he asked, voice lower than before. She nodded her head, eyes moving over him yet again. “So now that you got me here, what’d you have in mind?”

Rey’s eyes met his again and she placed the hand not holding her cellphone behind her slightly on the bed, leaning back slightly.

“I thought I’d let you call the shots,” she said. It was her turn to smirk, a look of surprise on Ben’s face suddenly clear. He cleared his throat.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Very sure.”

He was silent, watching her threw the window. He took a step back from the window and for a brief second she thought he was going to leave the room, decided that this wasn’t a good idea. But he was only grabbing the chair that was behind him, moving it closer to him so he could sit down.

His eyes locked with hers again.

“Take your shirt off,” he said, voice husky. She felt a tingle go down her spine and straight to her core.

She didn’t hesitate or shy away, setting the phone down and lifting her shirt over head, thankful she wasn’t wearing a bra to make this all easier. She picked her phone back up and stared straight at Ben. He was leaning back in his chair, watching her, his eyes dark shadows from this distance.

“Like what you see?” she asked, repeating his earlier question.

“Take off the rest of your clothes.”

She obliged, quickly.

“You ever see me naked before?” she asked suddenly. She heard his breath catch and she smiled. “Have you been spying on me, Mr. Solo?”

She grabbed one of her breasts, desperately wishing he were here, that he was touching her.

“Once,” he finally admitted.

“And?”

“You were fucking that frat boy.”

She felt her cheeks flush, but she wasn’t embarrassed that he had seen her like that.

“When?”

“The same night you invited me to your parent’s anniversary party,” he answered, licking his lips.

“I was thinking of you the whole time,” she admitted. “Poe was just a distraction at that point.”

“Don’t say his name.”

“Jealous, Ben?”

“Extremely,” he answered. He stood from the chair and moved closer to the window. “Touch yourself.”

She moved her hand lower, happy to obey. 

“Are you wet?”

“Extremely.”

“Do you wish I was there?”

“Yes,” she gasped, fingers finding their target. She put her phone on speaker and set it on the bed next to her so she could lean back. “Can I see you?”

“Not tonight,” he answered. “I just want to watch you.”

“Are you going to touch yourself later?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you want to fuck me?”

“God yes.”

“Ben.”

“Rey.”

She fell off the edge of a cliff, falling from heights she didn’t know she could climb. Her arm that had been holding her up slipped and was suddenly on her back on her bed, pushing her fist against her mouth to keep from crying out. 

When her breath was starting to even out a bit, she sat up again, picking her phone off and turning off speaker before bringing it back to her ear.

“I hope that made up for earlier,” she said.

“Oh it definitely did,” Ben answered. “When can you come over again?”

“Soon,” Rey said. “I’ll be over as soon as I find an opportunity. Even if I have to make something up.”

“I look forward to that,” he said. She smiled at him.

“Sweet dreams, Ben.”


End file.
